Cradock Nowell, Vol. 2 (of 3)

utable peculium. In currency his means were limited to exactly four and ninepence. With the accuracy of an upright man (even in the smallest matters), h

of his waistcoat pockets; for he had little horse–shoes upwards, as well as the straight c

hted, a disgrace to any style of architecture, teeming with insolence, pretence, dirt, discomfort, fuss, and confusion. Let

f Parliament, the following "Notice" tried to appe

His duties will not be onerous. Wages one pound per week. Uniform

then he turned round, and felt whether all his money was safe. Yes,

y boots; but a suit, all uniform, allowed, will cure my only deficiency. I could live and keep Wena comfortably upon a pound a we

ry nearly an hour, Mr. Killquick being engaged, as usual, in the company?s most active department, arranging very effectually for a collision down the line. "Successfully," I would have said; but, t

when all his instructions were on the

he traffic–manager looked at him with interest and reflection.

Crad answered, "but of course

our sight is accurate, an

they were, sir; but I ca

do. And the muscles of his calf are too

ave caught. It will go off in

ny way connected with the law? No frie

I mean, in London, only one family, far

a fuss, eh? No wife to preven

I am quite alone in the world;

ork any longer by himself. And the coroner made such nasty remarks. If we kill another man there before Easter, the Times will be sure to get hold of it. Young man," he continued in a lou

I never

you look so down in the mouth. You

sacre, a most respectable perso

decessor lost his life through the very grossest carelessness. You are as safe there as in your bed, unless your nerves happen to fail you. And,

e, then?" asked Cradoc

are you?" Mr. Killquick lo

to eye, so that the wholesale smasher quailed at him; "there is

their wanton waste of human life. How the Legislature lets them go on so, is more th

ffice, "no end of a collision on the Slayham and Bury Branch. Three pass

pect it. Told Sykes it would b

r into a sand–hill. Driver cased in glass, from vitrifaction of the

reserved in a glass case, from the results of his own imprudence! I

time you come out of the gate-which you never will be allowed to do, except when your spell is over, and your mate is in. You will go at once to our outfitters, and, upon presenting this ticket, they will fit you up, as tightly as possible, with your regimentals. And see that you don?t t

said Cradock, "excep

will be at the gate of the Cramjam goods station. The clerk there will have his orders about you. He will supply you with a book, and map out for you your duties. Also Morshead, your mate, an invaluable man, will show you the practical part of it. Now, good–bye, my lad. Remem

by Cradock?s air of uncomplaining sorrow, a

thing; observe the strictest economy; and no bonfires of the splinter–wood, as they had last week?-"very foolish of me," he said on t

–wind go through his heart, hastened to the outfitters?, and there he was r

of all for the gentlemen in your way of business, sir. Must have new clothes every new hand, and they changes pretty often

his own grim wit, while Cradoc

s the fray of a hem, and there you are, sir; and they have to look for another hactive young man, sir. And hactive young men are getting shy, sir, uncommon shy of it now, except they come from the country. Hope you insured your life, s

le, "from all that you tell me, there would be less imprudence in ordering

now, except the legs of the tights, and that?s the most particular part of it all. May I trouble you to turn your trousers up? It will never do to measure over them. We

ed in at the open gates of the front yard, leading to the Cramjam general goods terminus. This was the only way in or out (except alon

m pilasters; "what?s your business here, my man, on the premises of the Grand Junction Wast

d weed–nursery for the neighbourhood, and wherein the senior porter has his private mushroom–bed. They are wise in this seclusion, and wholesome is their privacy, so long as they discard all principle-so long as they are allowed to garotte us, while they jabber about "publ

size of the stone one at Nowelhurst Hall?s chief entrance), presented

ron, chalk, packing–cases, boxes, crates, what not, so fast as they comes into the higher end, or so fast as they goes out of it. You return this book to the check office every time you come off duty. You begin work at eight in the morning, and you leave at eight in the evening. You don?t pass here meanwhile, and you can?t pass up the line. Hope you have brought some grub. You?ll have five minutes in the afternoon, long enough to get a snack in, after the up goods for Millstone is off. Oh, you ought to have brought some grub; if you faint, you will never come to again. But perhaps Morshead can

of them, crushing flints into a shower of sparks, doing anything and everything except standing still for a moment. And among them rushed about, like dragons-ramping, and routing, and swearing fearfully, gargling their throats with a boiling riot, and then goring the ground with tusks of steam, whisking and flicking their tails, and themselves, in and out at the countless cross–webs, screaming, and leaping, and rattling, and booming-the great ponderous giant goods–engines. Every man was

scried him coming; for he had acquired the art of seeing all round, as a spider is falsely supposed to do. He knew, in a moment, by Cradock?s dress, what business he was meant for; and he said to himself, "Thank God!" in one breath, for the sake of his

ord daily, not for the sake of honour or fortune; not because of the dash in it, and the excitement to a brave soul; not even to win the heart?s maiden, that pearl of romance and mystery: but simply to supply the home, to keep in flow the sprin

t of all in the night-oh, in the horrible night, and yet more in the first gleam of morning, when the body was worn out, and dreams came over the eyes, but were death if they passed to the brain, and the trucks went by like nightmares-that very morning he had felt, after taking duty night and day for more than a week, since they killed h

of it, entering or departing from that crammed and crowded terminus, to have nobody to help you therein, and nobody to cry "dead man" if you died, and the certainty that if you stood a hair?s–breadth out of the perpendicular, or a single wheel had a bunion, you with the note–book in your hand must flood the narrow 'tween–ways, and find your way out underneath to heaven; all this, and the risk of the fearful jumps from one sliding t

ine–inch gangway. "I see you belongs to a different horder of society; obliged to keep my eyes open, mate;

said Cradock, "if you think th

t follow me, and do as I do. I can put you up to it in six hours; and then if you can spare me for the other six, 't

k, with his heart rising; "you cannot expect me t

always tell by the eyes of a man how long he will last at this work.

when two side–boards threatened to shear them, they got to the gorge at the entrance, where the main turmoil of all was. The Symplegades were a joke to it. And all because the Screwing Company wo

Mr. Morshead informed Cradock; "now you?

on the chains of the passing waggons, and held up

enger–train, you know; and you must larn when they are standing. I need not to have done it now,

the train that was coming in. It happened to be an easy one; for there were no

an not.-Hold your tongue," to a man in a truck, who was interrupting his lecture; "don?t you know better than to offer me that stuff? Never touch what they offers you, sir. They means no harm, but you had safer take poison when you be on duty. There is not much real danger just here, if a fellow is c

Did he leave

unless he be tired of his life, o

the Company

me-twopence apiece all round. But they only did it to encourage me, for fear I should f

from funk, Morshead. I

ll," replied Stephen; "I beg

crash, and rattle, that swinging and creaking as of the Hellespontic boat–bridge, mixed deference with his pity for Cradock. He saw, from his face, and air, and manner, that he was bred a gentleman

hrink an inch from the driving–wheels; where his size was measured as for his coffin, and if he stirred he would want nothing more. Then, if a single truck–flap were down, if an engine rollicked upon the rail, i

ey help starting two trains at once?" poor Crad asked himself-for he had found no time to ask it before-when, weary to the last fibre with the work of the day, he fell up

n on duty all night, and whose eyes seemed cut out of card–board, only stayed for an hour with him, and then, feel

day–spell, at least for the first three weeks; for to Stephen the moon was as good as the sun, and sweet sleep fell like wool when plucked at, and hushed the trampin

the butcher?s lady dog, a nasty ill–bred thing-the idea of calling her a lady!-why, even she was allowed, though the selfish thing didn?t care for it, unless there was suet on his apron, to jump up at him and taste him, all the time he was going for orders. And then look even at the Ducksacre dog, a despicable creature-his father might have been a bull–terrier, or he might have been a Pomeranian, or a quarter–bred Skye, or the Lord knows who, very likely a turnspit, and his mother, oh! the less we say of her the better;-why, that wretche

the drugget–scrap, and looked at the door despairingly, and howled until Mrs. Ducks

her master out, even through the streets of London? What did he wear such outlandish clothes for? Very likely, on purpose to cheat her. Very likely he was

rs, all four legs at once, in that sort of a bone–slide which domestic dogs acquire. Miss Ducksacre ran out of the shop at the noise-for this process is not a silent one; but she could only cry, "Oh, Lord!" as Wena, with the full impact of her weight multiplied into her

cre cried to the shop–boy, as well as she could, for t

nipped his fingers for him; the next moment she wa

with fine black eyes, "whatever will Mr. Newman think of us? It

autiful buff pantaloons." What a greengrocer he would make, to be sure, so hupright and so lordly like; and she?d like

hins came in, without medium of exchange, and filled cap, mouth, and pocket. One brat was caught upon their return, and tied up for the day in an empty potato–sack, and exposed, behind

as far as the Cramjam Terminus, at least three miles from Mortimer–street. The sharp little gate–clerk, animated with railway love of privacy, ran out, and clapped his hands, and shouted "h

ne of his chief fortalices; his book was in his hand, and he was entering, as f

d the roaring. She lost her presence of mind in a moment,-she always had been such a nervous dog-she tightened her tail convulsively, an

monsters, were yelling at her on every side, clapping black hands, and hooting. The dog on the Derby course, when the race rushes round the corner, was in a position of glory and safety compared to poor Wena?s now. Already the tip of her t

ain, and resigned herself to die. But first she must ask for sympathy, although so unlikely to get it. She looked once more at her w

empty horse–box, almost scraping the ground, perfectly certain to crush her. Crying, "Down, down, my poor darling!" he ran down the train, which was travelling seven or eight miles an hour, seized the side of a truck, and leaped, at the risk of his life, upon the fender in front of the horse–box. Then he got astride of the coupling–chain, and kept his right hand low to the ground, to snatch her up ere the crusher came. Knowing

?s engine, pointed and screamed to him where and what was doing. Morshead jumped on the heap of pig–iron, and sideways thence on the board of the truck just passing, as dangerous a leap as well could be, but luckily that truck was empty. He jumpe

that Cradock must be killed and dead, just as Clayton had been. Upon this conclusion, she fetched such a howl,

ship as an omnibus conductor. I don?t mean to say it would improve his morals-probably rather otherwise; but it would teach him the habit of looking round; it would let him know that there really is more than one qu

h Cradock and Wena at the expense of the Company (which was boasted of next board–day)-when one of them came home with Crad-for Morshead ha

as when a train of trucks was upon him, the native indignation of a man at knowing that his blood is meant to ebb down a railway sewer, and a new broom will sweep him clean-all these worries and wraths together,

was learned and diagnostic upon him; nor even that Polly Ducksacre took his feet out of bed, and rubbed t

tail was stypticised; but no skill could